


Ready, Set, Don't Go

by McGregorsWench



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies), Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Darcy Lewis is Tony Stark's Daughter, F/M, ShieldShock - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-05
Updated: 2016-04-05
Packaged: 2018-05-31 08:54:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6463837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/McGregorsWench/pseuds/McGregorsWench
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/users/Nemhaine42">Nemhaine42</a> when she was having a bad day last week.</p>
<p>This takes place within her <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/4638819">Corona</a> story, specifically after the events in that story.</p>
<p>This is what happens in the lead up to the events in Captain America Civil War.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ready, Set, Don't Go

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nemhaine42](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nemhaine42/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Corona](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4638819) by [Nemhaine42](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nemhaine42/pseuds/Nemhaine42). 



> **Title:** Ready, Set, Don't Go  
>  **Author:** [Carrie](http://mcgregorswench.tumblr.com/) ([McGregorsWench](http://archiveofourown.org/users/McGregorsWench))  
>  **Rating:** PG  
>  **Characters:** Darcy, Tony, Steve, mentions/inferences of other comic characters.  
>  **Dedicated to:** Nemhaine42 who gave me a spark of an idea for this fic....I hope you like my choices! And honestly, I think it could almost fit within your Corona universe....I hope you don't mind that....when I sat down to write this, I honestly had every intention of this being happier....but, I feel that it is hopeful....  
>  **Disclaimer:** I don't own anything other than the computer that I typed this ficlet with, and quite a few DVDs. I am not, nor have I ever, owned anything of real value other than my two BS degrees. I do not own any recognizable characters, they belong to the CB gods over at Marvel Comics/Marvel Studios/Disney.... The title comes from _Billy Ray Cyrus_ ' song _Ready, Set, Don't Go_ ; which I also do not own. In fact, if you recognize the characters or lyrics, I do not own them! This was written for entertainment purposes only, no money (and only enjoyment) was gained by writing this short story. And yes, I quote _Amazing Spider-Man #537_. You know why!  
>  **Betas:** [GlynnisI](http://glynnisi.tumblr.com/) ([GlynnisIsta8](http://archiveofourown.org/users/GlynnisIsta8)) and [AenariasBookshelf](http://aenariasbookshelf.tumblr.com/) ([Aenaria](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Aenaria)) any mistakes remaining are my own....  
>  **Notes:** this story takes place within [Nemhaine42](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Nemhaine42)’s [Corona](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4638819) story....after her existing chapters....you should go read it! It’s an awesome story.

**Ready, Set, Don't Go**

 

_There ain't no room for me in that car_  
_Even if she asked me to tag along_

 

 

The flight out here to see his daughter had taken less time than he was expecting it to. He had tried calling Darcy when he landed, but there had been no response, just her voicemail. So he sent a text as he started the car’s engine. But even when he pulled up in front of her house and checked, he still had not heard back from her.

 

He was starting to worry, especially when the door was unlocked. He let himself in, he even called out her name. But what he saw on the other side of the living room had shaken him to his core.

 

Tony couldn't believe that it had come to this. Shock froze him in place and stopped him from yelling or sounding an alarm.

 

His daughter, who was far more independent and mature at her age than he was, had finally messed up. Not that many people even knew that she was his daughter. The people within SHIELD who had known had never recorded it. The public at large didn't know it. And, it was the one thing that even Obie had never let slip.

 

Oh, he had known of his daughter's liking of Captain America from the very first time that he met her. That damned t-shirt she wore that Thanksgiving! Even when she got older, Darcy promised him that if she had ever gotten to be the Captain's side piece, she would let him know. She hadn't, and it was blatantly obvious to him that she was, most definitely, Captain America's side piece.

 

He wanted to scream.

 

He didn't want to see his little girl get hurt by being with a criminal - a criminal who was harboring and protecting the man that killed his parents. He couldn't actually hear what they were saying, but they were cuddled up on the sofa.

 

‘ _How could Cap not know I'm here?’_ was Tony's passing thought.

 

Tony watched them, as Steve leaned down and out of his sight. While he was out of view, Darcy's laughter rang out. He watched Steve sit back up, gently taking Darcy's face in his hands, and plant a light kiss on her lips.

 

Tony couldn't believe his eyes as he watched Steve lean his forehead against Darcy's. They had their eyes closed, but Tony could see that there were tears streaming down both of their faces. In all the time that he had known his daughter, he had never seen her cry from anything other than extreme anger (usually directed at him). Not to mention it was equally as strange to see Steve cry.

 

He watched as Steve took a hold of Darcy's necklace. He could barely make out what Steve was saying.

 

_[“I leave my heart here with you. I don't want to leave, but to protect you, I will. I love you, always know that.”]_

 

The raw emotion rolling off the two of them, almost made Tony miss his daughter's answer.

 

_[“I love you, too. I know that you would stay if I asked you to, but I won't. I know that James means as much to you as anyone else. Come home when you can, when everything is safe. Bring your brother home.” Darcy leaned into Steve placing her hand over his dog tags. “And know, that this right here, is a direct line to my heart. Always, Steve.”]_

 

_Brother? What was she saying?_ Tony frowned, confused by that description of the man he believed to be Steve’s boyfriend.

 

By this point, Tony was almost in tears as well. He watched as Darcy walked with Steve to the door, giving Steve another tearful kiss. He stood there staring as his daughter broke down long after he heard Steve's motorcycle drive off.

 

Darcy never even acknowledged him. Not even when he sat down beside her and held onto her tightly, letting her cry herself out. He didn't know how to deal with her like this. He wanted to call Pepper and ask her for her help, but he knew that he had to do this on his own. For once in their life together, he wanted to be there for his daughter before she even realized she wanted or needed him there.

 

“Daddy, I understand. Hell! Steve understands your stance on those stupid Accords. But for all that is holy, I need him home! He risked it all to be here tonight.” Darcy cried against his chest where she still curled up on him.

 

“Sweetheart? What exactly did I witness here tonight?”

 

“You witnessed your daughter tearfully tell her husband, and father of your unborn grandchildren, _goodbye_. I hope that it wasn't for the last time. But, my heart aches as if it was. Daddy, I, _**we**_ need him to come home healthy and whole.”

 

Tony gasped at the sudden clenching in his gut. “Darce, I'm going to let it slide, for the moment, that you just told me you married the Capsicle and are pregnant. I wasn’t expecting to have this conversation when I drove out to your place tonight. But, you said you understood my stance. We need to be held accountable. That **monster** needs to be held accountable for your grandparents' deaths.” Tony took a calming breath as he let his words sink in.

 

“Daddy, have you been held accountable for your SI weapons that ended up in the hands of terrorists around the globe?”

 

“Darce, I didn't give any terrorists those weapons. That wasn't on me.”

 

“Exactly, Dad. You didn't ever consent to that. And, neither did Bucky. From the moment he fell off that train in the Alps, until he finally escaped Hydra's clutches recently, he never once gave consent to being frozen, brainwashed, mind wiped, and taken apart, over and over and over again. He didn't ask to be turned into something that no one, not even himself, recognized.” Darcy wiped her eyes on his shirt before she continued, “you would do anything for Uncle Rhodey, right?”

 

“You know that I would.”

 

“Steve is the same way with Bucky. They are brothers in every way that matters. Just like you and your James are... Can't you see that?”

 

“Wait. What? Bucky Barnes is Steve’s boyfriend!”

 

Darcy snorted with laughter. “Are you kidding me? How did you get from ‘Steve is an annoying, old-fashioned Boy Scout’ to ‘Steve took vows with my daughter and risked his life to be there as a dad just so he could screw her on the side?’ And, how did you get confused between the definition of best friend and lover, anyway? Is there something going on between you and Rhodey that Pepper ought to know?” Her expression shifted between laughter and heartbreak.

 

Tony shook his head vehemently. “Even if that’s true… Barnes is a fugitive from the law! I can't just let them go. It is the law now, and as I have chosen to serve the public, I have to uphold the law.”

 

“But, what if the law is wrong? This nation was founded on one principle above all else: the requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. That's what Steve is doing.” Tony saw stubborn conviction in her eyes, an expression he recognized from his own mirror.

 

“But, he left you....”

 

“He left to **protect** us from the idiots working with the government to bring him in. Admit it, if you had known he would be here, you would have alerted the brute squad!”

 

“Sweetheart, no I....no, you're right. I would have called in a squad to arrest him. I'm sorry, but it is the law.”

 

“It doesn't matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. Steve told me that it's your job to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world ‘ _No, you move’._ ” Darcy started to sniffle again. “Don't make me lose him, Daddy. I just want him home.”

 

“Even if I could get past the law, can I forgive Barnes for his part in the death of your grandparents? Because, even I know that Rogers won't come in without Barnes being free.”

 

“I do. So, why can't you?”

 

“I....”

 

“Is it worth it, Dad?”

 

“Is what worth it?”

 

“Is it worth losing a friendship, a daughter, and grandchildren? Because that is what you'll be giving up if this goes on. I love you, and Pepper, and Uncle Rhodey, and even Happy. But, I would give it all up in a heartbeat to be together with my husband.”

 

Tony sat there holding onto his daughter, letting her words sink in. He knew that she meant them. He knew how stubborn she was. Even though he had had no hand in raising her, she was more like him than he cared to admit. But, she was right. It wasn't worth losing everything.

 

“I don't know how to fix this. How can I make it better?”

 

“I don't know that you can. It takes far more than one person to change a law. And, I'm afraid of the outcome. I'm afraid that I may never see my husband again.”

 

“Why did he come home then? If he's so worried about you both, why risk it?

 

Darcy pulls a wrinkled picture out of her pocket and hands it to him. “He knew I was having my 12-week sonogram today. He wanted to be there, but didn't want to risk anyone recognizing him and calling it in.”

 

Tony continued staring at the picture, not quite believing it, but yet he did. He knew that this was one step of his daughter's life that he would be there for. And he would damned well do all he could to ensure that his grandchild… grandchildren... had both parents.

 

“I'll fix this somehow, Darce. I promise.”

 

 

 

 

 

********

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
